I Saw Dragons
by Auritas
Summary: The blind seer speaks the truth, yet no one seems to hear.


"Ava."

Then,

back then,

I saw the _Plains_ :

rolling endless

golden green

 _something there treads light unseen_

I point:

"What's that, Mother?"

 _something there its head raised high_

"What, Ava?"

"There, _look_ —"

 _something there it meets my eye_

how can she not see this

"Ava, you are seeing things."

no doubt I am

 _something there treads_ _light unseen_

 _something there_

 _Something_

 _t-h-e-r-e_

And it _smiles_.

"Father, surely—?"

surely, _surely_ you believe me

(surely you can _see_ it)

"Ava, no more of this."

" _But—"_

"Find your brothers. Perhaps they will be more patient than I." Distant laughter.

"Yes, perhaps they will listen to your useless tales and play your worthless games."

(useless worthless useless worthless)

 _Something there no longer_

And I, left alone

u-n-s-e-e-i-n-g

* * *

 _Ava._

Then,

back then,

I saw our _room_ :

dusty crowded

white-washed blue

(strange, that the _walls_ would be painted the _sky's_ hue)

 _Ava? What do you see?_

 _Yes Ava, it has been so_ long _already_ —

 _Patience, both of you_ — _!_

Laughter far less distant, then.

I am seeing:

seeing for my brothers,

laughing and whispering,

jostling and wrestling

in a mindless carefree sea

(it was all so simple then)

eyes closed but open

our backs to the floor

our heads to _each other_

we were _three_ ,

but also _one_

(three no longer, _one no longer_ )

our thoughts a mired intertwining nebulous ever-shifting cloud,

together

 _(oh back then)_

Tom, ever the careful: _Ava, what are you thinking?_

Jack, ever the carefree: _About us, of course!_

and I, ever the caretaker: _And your respective paths, of course, foolish boys._ (Here I took on Mother's voice.)

Laughter, of three and also _one_

 _(if only we could return to those careless days)_

Sight flashes behind closed lids.

 _Oh— I see something. Stay still, both of you—_

Silence in my mind, as they allow me to see.

 _(if only we could return to those careless days)_

 _Jack, you may want to return Father's blade. He will need it, tomorrow, in Hira._

 _But why?_

 _Bandits, of course. Now be sensible._

Disappointment, reluctance, but also understanding. _If you say so, sister._

 _That is more like it. And— Tom, stay away from the neighbor's dog—he has been bitten and is going mad._

 _Ahh, a shame . . . He never did take to me._

 _But of course, what with you and your constant pestering of the creature—_

Tom smacks Jack's arm, light. _Watch your words, little brother—_

 _Or else what, Tom the Terr—_

At this, Tom sits up and looms over Jack.

I roll my eyes helplessly. _(Brothers.)_

"Call me that again and I— I'll—"

"What will you do?" There is laughter in Jack's mind, and it overflows into both of ours. "Oh what will you do, _Terrible Tom_ —"

A battlecry, and both of them are on their feet, the sound of wood clashing through the air, ringing with their laughter.

I smile.

Then—

"Wait. Both of you, be quiet—"

silence.

Then—

 _Something there_

My eyes widen

 _no no no no no no no_

 _N O_

 _(not here, please not here)_

 _(please)_

* * *

 _Something there treads light unseen_

 _Something there its head raised high_

 _Something there it meets my eye_

* * *

but then:

 _Ava, I am with you._ (Tom.)

 _Ava, I am here._ (Jack.)

shadow, shadow, shadow on every wall

their eyes watching far too close

"- _L-e-a-v-e-!-_ _"_

I scream.

They do

but they turn

and they slip

 _behind Jack:_

into his shadow cast

by the sun falling through our window.

 _Ours. Ours ours ours ours_ ours

 _(they have no right to take)_

 _(not him)_

 _Ava._

 _Ava, are you well?_

 _Ava, speak to us!_

 _Ava!_

"Ava!"

". . . I am fine."

 _(I am not.)_

 _(and they know it,_ _because we are one_ _)_

I open my eyes,

gaze at the ceiling

 _Don't leave me,_

I beg.

(useless worthless useless worthless)

 _Never._

 _Never._

(Ah, such lies)

I smile. _Thank you._

* * *

 _and the vulture looms over Jack, whispering:_

 _Give me back my shadows_

but he became one

 _And there are eyes. Watching._

 _Watching_ _me_

 _Watching everyone._

 _(Why are they here)_

 _"-L-e-a-v-e-!-"_

I cry.

But my voice is a whisper and my flailing hands are naught

 _the eyes smile_

 _and wink away_

 _but they know_

 _that I know_

 _t-h-e-y-a-r-e-s-t-i-l-l-h-e-r-e_

 _treading_

 _light_

 _unseen:_

 _shadows_

 _hidden, by our own night_

Time flew on unhurried wings

 _(for all I knew it never flew_

 _but always slept,_

 _m-o-c-k-i-n-g-m-e-)_

but _things_ never stopped

 _appearing_

and those I could speak to kept

 _disappearing_

Mother

Father

Jack

Tom

Ava

 _(why did you all leave me)_

I stand alone

in a sea of myself

drowning

in silence

staring

watching

 _hoping_

 _(useless worthless useless worthless)_

 _Why am I alone?_

* * *

In time I learn

the cadences of

 _time_

its language

(whispered in its silence)

its whims and its _woes_

(learned in its rage)

its _cruelty_ and its loneliness

(seen in its weariness)

it was like looking in a mirror.

It introduces me to Opal.

another mirror, it seemed

Kind, kind Opal:

the only kindness I had

so endlessly hopeful

if only I could relearn hope

brimming with _fire_ undefeated

 _(and there the mirror shatters)_

"Your enemy, child of ours," she says,

"Is despair. And its friends that it holds within itself, who will enter your heart once you grant despair purchase."

"But how to fend it off," I ask, "when it is all that is left inside me?"

 _("There, look—")_

 _("Father, surely—")_

 _("Find your brothers.")_

 _("Perhaps they will be more patient than I.")_

Opal turns

her _fire_ still bright

(if only I had something as _stubborn_ as that)

"Is that what you think?

Look closer, then."

but all I saw was dusk and _darkness_

* * *

"Jack. What time is it? Is the sun still up? . . . Jack?"

 _(And why is it so dark?)_

"Ava, I am not Jack. It is midday." A heavy sigh. "Are you jesting with me?"

I blink

and it all returns—

 _Jack: where is he?_

 _Home?_

 _Beside me?_

 _No._ Neither.

He has gone, behind the looming vulture.

 _I saw it._

 _And I stood by, aside_

 _and let him go_

 _(useless worthless useless worthless)_

"Ava."

I look to the sky.

 _something there treads light unseen_

I sigh. "I am sorry. . . . Tom."

His smile is worn and weary. "Ah, there it is! For a moment I feared for your eyesight, dear sister. Do not jest with me like that again, I beg you."

 _Oh, but brother_ — _I jested not._

"I will not, Tom. I promise."

 _I cannot see._

and there is only darkness

* * *

" _Ava . . ."_

I stiffen.

"Mother."

" _Ava!"_

I turn inward.

"Father."

" _This can go on no longer. Your games, or tales, or whatever they are—they must end,_ here _, tonight!"_

they are not games they are not tales they are not _whatever_

 _why can't you_

 _see_

 _Something there treads light unseen_

" _Ava. I will give you three choices. Three, is that fair?"_

I close my eyes, already invisible. "Yes, Father."

" _One: you leave this place."_

(One: I run)

" _Two: you stop this nonsense."_

(Two: I hide)

" _Three: if you stay, and continue, we will hand you to the city leaders."_

(Three: I leave this world)

 _Something there its head raised high_

 _Opal, what do I do?_

I open my eyes, going from darkness to darkness.

"I choose one," I say. And I turn away, and step from the family I knew.

But my body leaves before my heart does

* * *

I lied.

I choose my own:

(Four: I turn and scream the truth to the air)

 _Something there it meets my eye_

 _someone must surely_

 _see_

* * *

I am somewhere.

Somewhere strange

yet somewhere I loved

once

and knew

once

 _Ah:_

Hira.

Voices swirl around me, a deadly, mindless, spellbinding river

(and I am _drowning_ )

 _Please,_ I beg,

to the cruel currents, unseeing:

 _listen to me!_

 _The shadows are near!_

 _They are here, watching!_

 _They are biding their time!_

 _They are within us, with us!_

 _(please listen to me)_

 _(please live)_

 _(please)_

 _(don't leave me)_

The river roars

o n ,

 _unhearing_.

* * *

I had turned

and screamed the truth to the air.

 _and what good has it done_

 _when the air cannot_

 _listen?_

* * *

I find the ocean:

the roaring, screaming ocean

crying of pain

of neglect

of time

of endlessness.

(another mirror)

It is home.

I stare across it, to the land

that cries in turn,

of neglect

of time

of endlessness.

(another mirror)

 _It is also home._

"We shall be good friends," I say,

and they cry on,

my soul's own carried in their wrenching chorus

* * *

Time flew on hurried wings.

The shadows appeared

as I had seen they would

(useless worthless useless worthless)

 _how foolish of me to warn the unhearing air_

* * *

Yet:

the ocean and the land are quieter.

Yet:

the skies are glowing brighter.

Yet:

three strangers distant draw ever closer.

 _Why are they here who are they what do they want_

 _("They are your last chance," breathes Opal.)_

and then I see

(they _are_ )

—but then

I see

 _another_

and the shadow

and the vulture

and _something there_

appear together

to jest at me.

Opal turns.

her eyes are dead

* * *

 _No._

* * *

 _(Why have you come back,_ _brother_ _?)_

His dark thoughts stir

behind my eyes

(ruin death the end)

and threaten

to drag me

back.

Away.

 _No_ — _never_

 _again._

* * *

I open my eyes.

He stands

before me:

 _unforgiving unforgetting unforgivable_

"Why have you come back?" I ask,

even as the answer treads behind my eyes.

He smiles

and all I can see is shadow, shadow, shadow

 _(ruin death the end)_

"Your plan will fail, brother," I plea.

 _(perhaps he might be brought back)_

"Your path is one that leads only to your doom."

 _(please come back)_

"Leave the vulture—the Shadow Lord! Come back to _us_. We can be three, be one, once more!"

 _Something there it meets my eye_

 _Please,_ I beg. "I warned you, brother." _Please._

 _(we miss you)_

He smiles

and all I can see is shadow, shadow, _shadow_

"You are worthless, dear sister. And your warnings are useless, in the end. As always."

(useless worthless useless worthless)

and all I can see is shadow, shadow, _shadow_

 _ruin death the end_

* * *

 _(Run or hide or leave this world)_

But then—

Opal appears:

 _(—or turn and scream the truth to air)_

I turn

and give

i n

 _(to the truth)_

 _(and to the air)_

* * *

and I know, in that moment

(as I have always known):

Jack

 _ruined, dead, in the end  
_

would not return

 _(but the strangers_

 _w-o-u-l-d-)_

* * *

And soon:

 _Something there treads light unseen_

 _Something there its head raised high_

 _Something there it meets my eye_

 _Something there_

 _Something_

 _Somethin_

 _Somethi_

 _Someth_

 _Somet_

 _Some_

 _Som_

 _So_

 _S_

* * *

 _(something there no longer)_

 _(no longer)_

 _( )_

 _(_

* * *

I open my eyes,

and for the first time

in so long

 _The shadows are there no longer_

and for the first time

in so long

I smile,

with mist in my eyes.

" _The strangers won,"_ I whisper, to the air.

Opal's laugh drifts across time

(and its cadence)

(and its language)

(and its whims and its woes)

(a mirror)

" _What did I tell you?"_

I close my eyes

turn

and give

i n

 _to the truth_

 _and to the air_

* * *

In time,

the land heals

the sea quiets

(now that _something there_ was _no longer_ )

In time,

my heart heals

my eyes quiet

(now that _something there_ was _no longer_ )

And in time,

my world

r-e-t-u-r-n-s

to me.

* * *

"Ava?"

"Tom."

"Do you . . ."

Fear, trepidation, regret.

 _Set yourself free, brother._

"Do you know about Jack?"

 _Of course, brother._

Our minds touch:

(and how I have _missed_ this)

 _I saw it before any of you did, brother._

 _Ah._

Fear, trepidation, regret.

 _I hold no blame over you, Tom, if that is what you are asking with your cowardly silence._

Laughter, dry but _true_.

 _(How long has it been since I have heard one of my brothers laugh?)_

Aloud, he says:

"You saw everything, did you not."

I smile.

Aloud, I reply:

"And you took me for a mad fool, did you not."

And then:

* * *

 _Something there something there something there_

 _Something is_

 _t-h-e-r-e_

* * *

My eyes widen.

No no no no no no no no no _no_

 _please_

 _please not again_

 _Ava?_

Fear, trepidation, _alarm_

"Tom, something is coming— _I see it_ —"

A hand grips my arm:

reality.

(My brother)

 _Something there glides light unseen_

I blink.

* * *

 _(what is this)_

* * *

 _Something there their heads raised high_

 _Something there they meet my eye_

but

it is not shadows

or dusk

or darkness

" _Are you—Opal?"_ I ask it.

She appears beside me, shakes her head, breathless:

" _I think it is something much better, Ava."_

 _Something there they burn with fire_

And then I realize what soars before me

and my eyes flow with mist.

" _You came back,"_ I murmur, " _after all we have done?"_

 _Something there they have forgiven_

A hand tugs on my arm:

reality.

(My brother)

" _Thank you,"_ I whisper.

* * *

 _Something there no longer_

* * *

 _Ava. "Ava!_ "

"I am fine, brother. Stop shaking me."

My world stills.

"Did you . . . _see_ something?"

"Of course I saw _something_ , you ignorant fig. What else would it have been?"

Trepidation, but _amusement_ also.

 _What did you see, then, sister?_

I smile, close my eyes

tilted upwards to the blue, blue sky:

* * *

"I saw dragons."

* * *

 **A/N: For a better-quality version of this, please read the AO3 crossposting of this fic, under the same name and archive! FFN doesn't allow me to keep strikethrough and spacing (in some parts but not all, weirdly enough . . . FFN what is happen?), and that resulted in having to make some odd changes to this copy of the fic. Both of those elements were also (I think) essential to conveying certain aspects of the writing, and so this version is, well. Less eloquent? Effective? Either way, just not as good imho.**

 **Thanks for reading, and a reminder that reviews make my day _and_ help me write more!**


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